Tag: Nevada Southern Railway

The little depot on Yucca Street was just coming to life when we arrived, not with choo-choos but with railbikes. These are industrial grade quadricycles-built-for-two that run on railroad tracks when pedaled, and they can be joined together so that whole groups can travel as one, all pedaling . . . gently at first, and then going like mad. Great fun!

Their adventure takes them west on track originally laid in 1931 to connect the UPRR from Las Vegas to Black Canyon and the Boulder Dam construction site, ending just northwest of the Railroad Pass Hotel/Casino at the US 93/95 Freeway. This has also been the end of the line for the weekend excursion trains since they began in 2002.

But on this day that would change in a big way. A special train was waiting to carry invited guests to a ceremony at the opening of a new bridge carrying the rails across the new Freeway to Henderson.

Celebrities arrived one by one and two by two; Governor Sandoval, Senator Heller and 40 or 50 people representing constituencies, contributors and participants in the project. And at 11 o’clock we got on board the two coaches, a dining car, an open-sided observation car (all acquired from Utah’s “Heber Creeper” in 1992) and the VIP Caboose and a vintage diesel pulled us gently to the bridge.

In 1985 the Union Pacific Railroad sold its Las Vegas-Henderson spur to the City of Henderson with an agreement that the city would maintain the rails and the UP would continue 5-days-a-week service to the city’s industrial businesses. Beyond Henderson the line was unused, and in 1988 NDOT paved over the rails that crossed the highway.

By 2000 the State Railroad Museum consisted of the track, the big shop across Yucca Street, the shaded platform and the fully rehabbed equipment from Utah. All of this was accomplished by the sole employee on site, Greg Corbin, working with contractors.

All that was lacking was running trains, so in 2002 Museums Administrator Peter Barton contacted southern Nevada members of the National Railroad Historical Society and asked if in addition to loving railroads they’d like to run one. It turned out they would, and they formed the Friends of the Nevada Southern Railway to fire up the locomotives and carry 2000 riders on the run to Railroad Pass the first year.

Annual ridership is now about 37,000 on the weekend runs plus the Special Trains — during December the Holiday trains all sell out, and carry some 10,000 passengers.

Preparations for the advent of Interstate 11 have had a big impact on the operation of the NSRy, starting with the redesign of US 93 and US 95 at Railroad Pass. When those plans were announced, Corbin reminded NDOT that the original rails had been paved over 20 years before, even though the right-of-way, despite being unused at the time, had never legally been abandoned. As a consequence the bridge we’d gathered to inaugurate was added to the highway realignment plans and constructed by NDOT. The small bridge a little farther west carries the bike trail.

Another consequence of I-11 was that Boulder City officials realized that rerouting highway traffic around the city would hurt local business. They came to the Railroad Museum wondering if it could be expanded to become a more significant attraction.

That, of course, is up to the Legislature and it’s

anticipated that funding the three phases of development will take a mix of public and private financing. A federal grant is being sought to develop and maintain the biking/hiking trails, and the museum itself will be a mix of State bonds and private money. Phase One is a $15 million Visitor Center/Passenger Depot at the now undeveloped east end of the property. Phase 2 is to be development of the access drive from Yucca Street into a landscaped greenbelt roadway, and phase 3 fills in the gap between the current platform and the new Visitor Center with more exhibits.

Oh but that’s just the beginning. After the ceremony by the bridge (after hearing that Governor Stanford went 0 for 3 when trying to drive the Golden Spike at Promontory Point in 1869, Governor Sandoval practically got onto his knees to tap-tap-tap the Silver Spike carefully into place) we reboarded the train and made the first passenger run to Henderson.

The tracks don’t extend very far beyond the highway crossing yet but preliminary plans suggest that an operating agreement now being negotiated with the City of Henderson will extend the run on a regular basis by about a mile, to the end of current UPRR directed freight service. An anticipated operating agreement between the City, the Museum and Union Pacific would allow Special trains to a Henderson passenger platform where the tracks run near to Water Street, the original downtown, and ultimately to the area of the Fiesta Casino, about seven miles west of the bridge.

Tourist trains back and forth between the two cities are a natural; there are even giddy thoughts of establishing daily commuter trains from Boulder City all the way to Las Vegas. Complex negotiations are underway between the Museum, the City of Henderson which owns the rails within its borders, and the Union Pacific Railroad that’s running trains five days a week on the Henderson tracks, to figure out what’s next. Until they do, that next thing is not going to happen.

But when it does, it will be a very big thing indeed, involving scheduled trains between downtown Henderson and the expanded passenger depot and Visitor Center mentioned above at Boulder City.

Just to whet your appetite, here are some of the development plans for the Railroad Museum at Boulder City. First, the property as it is now:

The current depot is at the upper left; on the right the track ends far enough out of the photo to allow a train to move beyond the switch that then permits it to back into the wye and get turned around.

Here’s the plan. That new Visitor Center and passenger depot of the Nevada Southern is at the intersection where incoming traffic eastbound on US 93 turns north, away from the downtown district of Boulder City.

On Friday morning April 27 Robin and I visited Boulder City and the Nevada State Railroad Museum, home of the Nevada Southern Railway. The little depot on Yucca Street was just coming to life when we arrived, not with choo-choos but with railbikes. These are industrial grade quadricycles-built-for-two that run on railroad tracks when pedaled, […]

Rural RoundUp, the annual grand conclave of tourism workers from all around rural Nevada, was held this year in Tonopah. The speakers were insightful and entertaining, the workshops apt and informative, the meals ambitious and delicious and the schmoozing pleasant and productive . . . but what we most remember is the wind. The bitterly […]

by Peter Barton In late December 1928 the United States Congress authorized construction of the Boulder Dam Project, the largest single civil engineering project conceived up to that date. To build the dam, they first built a railroad, or more accurately three railroads; the Union Pacific Boulder City Branch, the U.S. Government Railroad […]

Ride the Rails in Nevada! On Friday morning April 27 in Boulder City the Nevada State Railroad Museum, home of the Nevada Southern Railway woke up early. The little depot on Yucca Street was bustling — not with choo-choos but with railbikes. These are industrial grade quadricycles-built-for-two that run on railroad tracks when pedaled, and […]

Boulder City’s street sculptures add an element of surprise and whimsy to the breezy little city. We are doing ourselves a big favor by visiting Boulder City in February. It is the perfect cure for a Comstock winter, if you’re not going to Belize. When we are snowed in and battling the gale to get to […]

Boulder City’s street sculptures add an element of surprise and whimsy to the breezy little city. We are doing ourselves a big favor by visiting Boulder City in February. It is the perfect cure for a Comstock winter, if you’re not going to Belize. When we are snowed in and battling the gale to get to […]

In previous NevadaGrams (here and here) I pointed to some Nevadans who have made prominent acting careers, but how did I miss Reno Browne? What They’re saying About Us The New York Times checks out the new ball park in Reno. Sign Up for our NevadaGram here. You can buy Nevada books here. Dale & […]

No sooner do the first wildflowers of spring begin to paint the mountainsides than Jazz music fills the air around Nevada. A consortium of Las Vegas investors has bought Tonopah’s historic Mizpah Hotel and announced plans to reopen it later this year. The Mizpah advertised itself as “the finest stone hotel in the desert” when […]

Spring in Nevada

Jampacked June for Bicycling in Nevada-by Curtis Fong, “The Guy From Tahoe” Holly Molly! Did you see how fast that Peloton was moving through Carson Valley? Amazing Race! Women’s Stage 2 The 13th Annual Tour of California, Men’s Stage 6 and Women’s Stage 2, provided excitement and drama as both races came through the Carson Valley and climbed up and [...]

Bicycling Nevada, the look ahead-by Curtis Fong, the guy from Tahoe In recent years, bicycling has become an integral part of attracting tourism to the state of Nevada. Bike the West was at the forefront of promoting bicycle tourism since 1992 and in 2018 continues to produce the 27th Annual America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride – Lake Tahoe, on [...]

Halleck Bar Party The public is invited to the Annual party at the Northeastern Nevada Museum that starts at 6 p.m. on May 4th. It features a contest for best Old West-styled costume, a souvenir picture booth by Light Chaser Photography, silent auction, and saloon music played on the piano by Connie Muir. A $20 [...] Continue Reading

Diamond Jack wasn’t surprised when he received an invitation to visit El Burro Borracho at the Rio All-Suite Hotel. The restaurant, adjacent to the lively VooDoo Beach pool, comes from Emmy Award-winning television host Guy Fieri, who I met and spent time with when he opened Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen & Bar at The LINQ [...] Continue Reading

On the Road from Las Vegas to Laughlin: Laughlin This is Part 5 of a series. Read Part 1 (Searchlight) , Part 2 (Cal-Nev-Ari), Part 3 (Laughlin) & Part 4 (Laughlin) Continuing on at The Aquarius… The Aquarius casino resort in Laughlin After the world of The Riverside, your first impression of The Aquarius [...] Continue Reading

Railroading in Nevada

Ride the Rails in Nevada! On Friday morning April 27 in Boulder City the Nevada State Railroad Museum, home of the Nevada Southern Railway woke up early. The little depot on Yucca Street was bustling — not with choo-choos but with railbikes. These are industrial grade quadricycles-built-for-two that run on railroad tracks when pedaled, and [...] Continue Reading